SERVES 4 Ready in: 40 minutes 6 tbsp olive oil 1½ kg lean braising beef, cubed 4 cloves garlic, chopped 5 tbsp red wine vinegar 1½ kg shallots, peeled 3 pieces cinnamon bark 2 bay leaves 1 tsp whole cloves 1½ tsp aniseed (or fennel seeds or 2 star anise) 3 x 400g cans chopped…
Many of my childhood memories are of the simplest pleasures in life…like this custard dessert made for us by my mum’s elder sister Thia Frosa whenever we arrived back in Cyprus for the summer holidays. Peace and quiet reigned as I would spend an age cutting the spoon sweets into shapes to artistically decorate the…
I love making this as my children love it and it tastes wonderfully hot or cold. All you need to accompany it is a lovely fresh salad. Ingredients 1 packet no. 1 macaroni 500g/1lb2oz 1kg/2lb 4oz minced pork or beef 4 tbsp olive oil 2-3 onions finely chopped bunch flat parsley, chopped 400g can on…
This is our Greek version of Jewish penicillin…chicken soup! Mum would always make it for us if we were not feeling well. Even better, upon returning back to Cyprus after a long flight or tedious journey, one of my Aunts would step in, leaving a vast stainless steel bowlful in the fridge ready to heat…
Paul’s Aunt Soulla showed me how to make this bread Learning to cook from our aunts and mothers can sometimes be a challenge as they have no set measurements and constantly say things like ‘oso sigosi’ which means ‘as much as it will take’ or ‘sto mati’ which roughly translated means ‘use your eyes to…
These lovely pastries are my mum Noni’s recipe. Hers are so light and lovely that before you know it you have eaten the lot! In our house they are usually devoured fresh out of the oven, still warm. Ingredients For the dough 1 glass (200ml) of olive oil 3-4 cups (750g) of soft plain flour…
These are wonderful home made patties or sausages. Everyone makes them differently but I love mine with an overdose of parsley and onions. They are wrapped in panna or caul, the fine lining of the pig’s intestine marbled with fat,available at all good Greek butchers. It gives a wonderful moist texture to the sheftali because…
I love sweet Cypriot Lokoumi and fancied using some in a dessert so here is what I came up with…there was an element of surprise when I served it to my no-nonsense Aunts. Okay, so it is not traditional but is truly scrumptious, all fluff and frivolous just like Aphrodite! Definitely not one for my…
My mum is known for a lot of things but one thing for certain she is truly the ‘Koubes Queen’…there is not a soul alive who does not proclaim hers the best! As with all good things in life they take a little practise to make perfect but are really worth the effort. Do make sure…